Break ke Baad Review

Let’s face it. Most romantic comedies are predictable to the core. You already know what’s going to happen in the end. It’s the way they are presented and their treatment is what makes or ‘breaks’ a film.

We’ve seen a host of romcoms this year. I HATE LUV STORYS, AISHA and ANJAANA ANJAANI to name a few. Now, it’s BREAK KE BAAD. After JAANE TU YA JAANE NA and I HATE LUV STORYS, Imran Khan is once again part of a film which he is best suited for. It also sees Imran and Deepika being paired for the first time.

Before we get to the intricacies, BREAK KE BAAD has one of the best opening credits that we have ever seen. Right from a cinema screen to a t-shirt to steps to a terrace floor, the opening names appear innovatively, leaving a grin on your face.

The producer of the film, Kunal Kohli has denied BREAK KE BAAD being similar to LOVE AAJ KAL, and he’s right. It is a story of two childhood friends, Abhay Gulati (Imran Khan) and Aaliya Khan (Deepika Padukone). They both love each other. Aaliya is a feisty aspiring actress. Abhay is a confused guy who works with his father but doesn’t love what he’s doing. Aaliya decides to go to Australia for studies and the ‘distance’ between their relationship increases. Barely a few months after Aaliya has left, Abhay reaches Australia to be with her. But the growing differences between them, forces Aaliya to break-up with him.

Debutante director Danish Aslam doesn’t show us anything which we haven’t seen in past. Although that’s still fine, the execution is feeble. It starts well, but soon become a test of your patience every passing second. The narrative becomes very dreary break (interval) ke baad. Abhay and Aaliyah move frequently between India and Australia, but there is no movement in the story. There are no twists throughout the film, and the one that is there in the climax, is too good to be true.

The funky, conversational dialogues are very relatable. There aren’t many lighter moments, which is a must for a romcom. Lilette Dubey blaming the several remakes of Devdas for spoiling the youth is uproarious and so is Abhay changing his relationship status on facebook to ‘It’s complicated’. Wish there were more of such moments. Vishal-Shekhar’s music is wonderful with many hummable songs. Andre Menezes choreography captures the beauty of Australia effectively.

Imran Khan is well suited for the role of a lover boy and gives a decent performance. Deepika Padukone enthralls you with an earnest act. Even though they are good individually, the chemistry between them is missing. Sharmila Tagore is very good. Lilette Dubey is great and gets to deliver some hilarious lines. Shahana Goswami is admirable and so is Yudhisthir Das. Navin Nischol is good in his small role.

BREAK KE BAAD is an average affair which doesn’t ‘break’ new ground in romcoms.